The Donut Stop Review

Charlie and I recently discovered that there's not much in the way of late night dining in Omaha.

After being so busy at work that he didn't have time for dinner, he suggested we hit up Waffle House at midnight. Much to our surprise the closest Waffle House was 25 minutes away. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Waffle House, but no enough to drive 25 minutes in the middle of the night.

After a quick search I discovered we had two options: a 24 hour drive-thru Mexican chain called Abelardo's and The Donut Shop.

Upon closer inspection (mainly reading yelp reviews) I already decided we should ignore the Mexican chain and go on a donut adventure by the time Charlie got home from work.

The deciding factors in The Donut Stop's favor were:

yeah, I borrowed this picture from Yelp

- only open from 11pm-10am
-locally owned and operated for a long time
-the bathroom is decorated with tons of cat pictures
 -they only take cash or a check if you spend at least $8

Let me just say, WOW, were we in for an adventure.

The shop is located on a dark street next to a store that exclusively sells vacuum cleaners.

Once we left the highway, the only sign of life we saw on the way was a very, very drunk girl stumbling down the road. Like, so drunk that she swayed so hard to the left that I thought she was going to eat pavement.

Had I entered this place during the day, I doubt I would have eaten there.

inside the store picture borrowed from this blog

The walls are faded and yellowing. The carpet, yes, carpet has probably been there since they first opened. And, on a trip to the bathroom I got a full view of their kitchen which had full trays of donuts just hanging out in a hallway uncovered.

However, the donuts looked amazing. And, being a food warrior, I've eaten at sketchier places.

Note-the picture to the right must be old. The place looked much more run down when I was there.

Pricing started at 50 cents and they offered an amazing variety from cake to yeast and all the toppings/fillings anyone could want. It was almost like Krispy Creme and Dunkin Donuts had a beautiful baby.

Charlie had an eclair with coffee.

I ordered a jelly filled and then asked the guy behind counter what his favorite was. He responded "Look at me, I love them all" but eventually recommended a cream filled donut covered in cinnamon and sugar. I had an orange juice that I later realized had expired. My only other choice was milk and we all know I wasn't going there.

Sitting around us were tables of teens playing Jenga. The longer we were there, the busier they got. I even noticed an entire bookshelf of board games in the corner. If I had grown up in Omaha I bet I would have spent some serious time hanging out in this place as a teen.








And now, for my favorite part of the evening: the bathroom.

I don't normally talk about my bathroom trips but this one was special. Even if the donuts had been crap (which they weren't) the bathroom would have make the trip worth it.

All the walls and the door were covered in pictures of cats. The pictures look like they were from magazines and old calendars. And it was clear they had been lovingly put up over the years.

In fact, all of the decor consisted of cat pictures, some dog pictures and several pictures of a horse named Tina. So random. And, I love it!

Yes, this place is a dive but I'm totally taking every one that visits for cheap tasty donuts, board games, and excellent people watching.

Purée My Heart

culinary planking

The main lesson this week was sauteing.

We learned about proper saute temperature. If the pan is hot enough to saute, a drop of water will act like mercury. Try it, it's super cool.

We made a version of glazed carrots that makes me rethink the relevance of cooked carrots all together.

We sauteed mushrooms and potatoes.

And, as with any good intro culinary class we practiced our knife cuts. A. Lot.

But, I always know a lesson has had an impact when I'm motivated to go home and recreate it that night after already spending 6 to 8 hours in a kitchen. So, instead of recapping the sauté lesson,

Lesson 3: Sweet Potato Purée or Why I Need a Vitamix

Part of our homework the previous week was to cut 1/4 and 1/8 inch planks from sweet potatoes.

Chef promised that in order to Waste Nothing (Rule 11 of the Chef's Oath) he would teach us how to make the most amazing sweet potato puree.

I don't particularly care for purées because of the texture so I was skeptical. And, for that reason, I am far from an expert on the subject but HOT DAMN.

This 3 ingredient purée made my taste buds sing.

It is a definite addition to next year's Thanksgiving menu and I have plans to make a savory dessert using the purée and layers of puff pastry.

Update: 

Since this is by far my most popular post to date, here's how to make the puree:

Simmer at least 5 cloves of garlic in about 2 cups of cream for roughly 45 minutes. I used a whole head of garlic because I love me some garlic :)

And, when I say simmer I mean it. Otherwise the cream will boil over the pot and make one hell of a mess.

Meanwhile, cook your sweet potatoes. If you cut them small they'll cook super fast.

Then, puree the potatoes, simmered garlic cloves, and enough cream to get the correct consistency. You should be able to do it in a blender. Or, with a hand mixer if you're desperate.

Remember, less is best. Add the liquid slowly. You don't want soup. 

Enjoy!

It Shouldn't Be Electric

I've never had a gas stove.

In fact, the idea of a pilot light has always scared me.

My fear of gas cooking comes from a gas fireplace we had in my house when I was a teenager. Every time we used the gas fireplace my mother and I would fall asleep. And sleep hard within 10 to 15 minutes of turning it on.

Once, I even fell asleep sitting on the stairs.

We had the gas company come out and check the lines several times. Each time they insisted there was no leak. I never believed them. And, to this day I insist I could smell when the fireplace was turned on as far away as my second floor bedroom.

As expected, the kitchens in the culinary building have gas stoves. I was a little afraid to use them. But, I jumped right in.

After using the gas stove each Saturday, returning to my electric stove at home has been difficult.The biggest and possibly most important lesson I've learned so far about cooking is:

Lesson 0: Cooking is All About Heat Management

I had never thought about cooking in this way. Actually, I'd never thought about the heat used at all other than low, medium, or high for the stove top and the degree setting for the oven. I'd get oil hot for frying. And that was about it. My focus was always on the ingredients.

Now, I understand the difference between radiation, conduction, and convection. I know there is such a thing as wet and dry heat. And that frying is actually a dry heat method.

To take it step further, I've learned that when proper heat is applied:

Sugar Caramelizes
Protein Coagulates
Starches Gelatinize

If we weren't renting right now I'd be scheming to convert the stove to gas heat. I'm hooked on the beauty of immediate heat control.

And, since I'm a perfectionist, I ordered this baby to practice my French Omelette at home.

There are so many more eggs in our future!

Brigadeiro Love

Everyone that knows me knows how much I love chocolate.

Some people know that technically I'm allergic to it.

When I was very young my mom picked me up from the sitter's and I had giant whelps on my back. She told me it looked like I'd been beaten with a belt.

The sitter was a family friend and I reported no ill treatment. A trip to the doctor confirmed my allergy. As a child I ate lots of fruits and vegetables so it is entirely possible that the candy bar that caused the whelps was the first I'd had.

As luck, or as I prefer cruel fate, would have it the allergy was only to dark and/or milk chocolate.

the horror!

A childhood of white chocolate Easter bunnies followed.

To this day the sight and smell of a while chocolate Easter bunny turns my stomach. And, at nearly 30, I am just starting to appreciate the idea of white chocolate.

Over the years I have grown out of my allergy and it has allowed to make up for what I refer to as the "white chocolate only" year.

Which brings me to Brigadeiros.

Truffles are great. But they can be fussy to make. And they have, in my opinion, an elite status in the chocolate world.

After watching a show featuring Brigadeiros, which are a much beloved Brazilian
version of a truffle that have a chocolate caramel taste, I knew I had to make them.

After researching to find an authentic recipe I came across this wonderful blog and video:

Street Smart Brazil

They were easy to make and wonderful to eat. And, they will certainly be a dessert that I make and share with friends many times over.

For my first run I opted for traditional toppings-chocolate sprinkles, coconut flakes, and walnuts.

Apparently there is a bakery in NYC that only sells Brigadeiros. One day I will visit and try some different flavors. Actually, lets be real, probably all the flavors.

Egg on My Face

After we had our introductory lesson on knife cuts we moved on to eggs. Notice I didn't say scrambled or fried. Over the next 6 hours I learned how to properly (that's a key word here) cook the following types of eggs: scrambled, fried, poached, and the oh-so-delicate French Omelette.

Then, on the way home I bought 5 dozen eggs for practice. Yep, five dozen. 

Lesson Two: All the Eggs

Scrambled

First, let me start by saying I despise scrambled eggs. However, after Chef's demo I was all like "Wait. No I don't. I love them!" I realized I'd never had properly cooked scrambled eggs.

Scrambled eggs should be:

pastel yellow with no white spots
soft and fluffy with small curds
moist
fresh

I always had overcooked my scrambled eggs in the past because I'm super salmonella paranoid when it comes to all things chicken.

And, I'm learning that with all things French the secret is the proper application of butter.

Fried

Guess who can now turn an egg without a spatula....this girl!When I finally got the turn right I actually jumped for joy. With a hot pan in my hand. NOT SMART. But, I'd always wanted to learn how to do that.

Also, I learned it's a turn not a flip. Your eggs should have hang time in the air. That's a basketball thing, right?

                                  Poached

I was aware of poached eggs. I've had them on eggs benedict. But I'd never made one or understood how awesome they are until this class.

I could watch eggs transform from raw to cooked in swirling water all day.

And getting the perfect cook and shape is a challenge.

THE OMELETTE

In America, omletes are all about the filling.

For the French, the omelette is all about the egg.

best I could do on electric

And, the egg has to be perfect. I managed the perfect omelette on my first try. I could say it was beginners luck. Skill. Patience. But, really I have no idea how I pulled it off.

And because electric sucks (a full post dedicated to this is coming later), I haven't been able to fully replicate it at home. Even after two hours of trying.

French Omelette Musts:

the perfect yellow
zero brown
rolled
smooth, tender, creamy

Cutting...Without Cutting Myself

The first lesson in my foundations lab was on knife skills. Woot! I've always wanted to learn how to chop, slice, and dice properly. And, of course, I want to do it well and with speed so I can be all fancy.

Before we ever set foot in the kitchen the chef told us there would be cuts today. In fact, we had a member of the previous class joining us because he cut his thumb so badly in the first 20 minutes of his class that he had to go to the emergency room.

I was determined I would not cut myself-I so didn't want to be THAT person.

Cutting properly is way harder than it looks. You have to hold the knife a certain way. Mind you, it is a 10-inch German steel knife with a dangerous edge that is considered a concealed weapon if you get pulled over and the cop wants to be a jerk. Curling you fingers under is f-ing hard. And, of course, each cut needs to be the same thickness for even cooking.

Lesson One: Building Muscle Memory with Celery

How many cuts can you get from one stalk of celery?

8. Depends on the recipe. 32. All answers called out in seconds. I thought the girl that said it depended on the recipe was clever. I must remember to make friends with her.

Anyways, what do you think?

Made me think of that old tootsie pop commercial. How many licks does it take to get to the center. Instead how many cuts to get to the end of the stalk.

Well, the expectation was that we all achieve 1,000 slices from 1 stalk of celery. Yep, I said 1000.

Then, chef demonstrated one slice the width of a contact lens that made my brain feel like I'd dipped it in pop rocks and walked outside in the rain. PERSPECTIVE CHANGED.

That day I practiced on celery for 45 minutes. I did not cut myself! Two others did.

One that did happened to be the person that showed up two hours late for a 3 hour class. Then, tried to repeatedly sit while we went through knife exercises. She also did not help clean at the end of the night. Let's just say she's already on my list!

Since the lesson I've practice at home. I have to admit I did nick my thumb once. The 1/8 cut, and that's probably stretching it, bled for an hour. These knives are seriously sharp. Lesson learned on the thumb curl.

After the celery we went on to carrots and onions with fancy cuts of different widths. We also spent 6 hours cooking eggs. More on those later. 

Just Doin It

Recently, with my 30th birthday looming, I really starting thinking about how I want to live my life.
In doing so, I realized that this last year-probably more than any other year in my life-has been one of introspection and growth.

I've have watched and continue to watch friends and family face and overcome unbelievable obstacles.

I've taken note of the love and support I receive from others and have tried to be more open about showing the love I feel for them.

Sharing emotions isn't easy for me.

I've gained a sense of confidence that I wish I could have shared with my 20 year old self.

And, I have been reminded over and over again that life is meant to be lived to its fullest every single moment you are privileged enough to draw breath on this Earth.

So, on a Thursday I decided I was going to stop putting things off. That Saturday I enrolled in 3 classes at the only culinary institute anywhere near me. Then, I decided if I was going to do it, I just needed to do it. I picked a fourth class making me a full-time student.

I've always loved to cook. I have a passion for baking. And, anyone that knows me is aware of my obsession with all things chocolate.

I also like to write. (Thanks expensive degree #1) And, now that I'm working full-time and attending school full-time I aim to use this blog as a way for friends-new and old-as well as family to keep up with me.

Maybe it'll also serve to teach its readers about food as I learn. (Would be great it super expensive degree #2 wasn't a complete waste)

Let the cyber stalking begin. :)

Also, I have way too many food pictures that I want to share.